1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the packaging of articles in sealed cartons and particularly to the enclosure, within a carton, of pre-formed groups of articles which cooperate to define a generally cuboid shape which may vary in width and/or height from group-to-group. More specifically, this invention is directed to apparatus for erecting cartons which may vary in format, subsequently inserting articles to be packaged in such cartons and thereafter closing the cartons, and the invention is especially concerned with apparatus of such character which may be quickly and easily adjusted to process carton blanks selectable from plural supplies in accordance with the configuration of the articles being packaged. Accordingly, the general objects of the present invention are to provide novel and improved methods and apparatus of such character.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
While not limited thereto in its utility, the present invention is particularly well suited for use in the packaging of cigarettes. A given manufacturing facility may produce cigarettes which, when formed into packages, have several different configurations when considered from the viewpoint of package length, width and height. Such packages are formed into groups, for example for packaging and subsequent sale as multi-pack cartons, and the groups thus also have different dimensions. A packaging facility wherein the apparatus which forms the cartons is suitable for only a single format, or which can be changed to accommodate different carton formats only with considerable difficulty, is thus inefficient.
For an example of a prior art cartoning system, reference may be had to U.S. Pat. No. 3,478,487. The apparatus of this patent receives, as raw material, a carton blank which is in a flat configuration. This carton blank is first cut to the required size and then erected. During the erection operation, a side wall of the carton will be caused to move to an out-of-the-way position so that a stack of products to be packaged can be pushed into the carton interior through the open side wall area.